In Niger, editor jailed over corruption story

New York, January 27, 2009--The editor of an independent newspaper in the West
African nation of Niger was jailed Monday in connection with an investigative
story alleging corruption in the finance ministry, according to local
journalists.

Boussada Ben Ali, managing
editor of the weekly L'Action, was jailed at Niamey's main prison after
a public prosecutor charged him with "divulging information likely to
undermine public order," according to local journalists. The charge relates to
a January 13 story alleging that the Economy and Finance Ministry awarded a
medical supply contract without an open bidding process. The story cited
documents that appeared to bear the signature of Economy and Finance Minister
Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine. Appearing on state television on Friday, Zeine said
he had no involvement in the transaction, according to local journalists.

"The jailing of Boussada Ben Ali is part of a disturbing
pattern of criminal defamation prosecutions to censor and intimidate
investigative journalists," said CPJ's Africa
program coordinator, Tom Rhodes. "Niger
would do better to follow up on the allegations of corruption and wrongdoing
unearthed by the press rather than imprison journalists performing a public service."

Police arrested Ben Ali in his office on Friday and
interrogated him over his sources before taking him to court, according to
local journalists. If convicted, Ben Ali could face up to two years in prison
and a fine of 1 million CFA francs (US$2,000) under Niger's 1999 press law,
according to defense lawyer Yahouza Amani.

In 2007, Ben Ali was convicted of libel and given a
suspended sentence for a story alleging that former Tourism Minister Rhissa Ag
Boula was colluding with Tuareg
rebels in Niger's vast Saharan north, according to the Niger Association of Independent Press Editors, known as ANEPI. The public prosecutor was
expected to review an appeal in the case after Ag Boula publicly announced his
defection to the rebellion in an interview
with the French weekly LeNouvel Observateur in January 2008.

Six
independent Nigerien journalists were sentenced
to prison in 2008 for reporting on corruption or government
mismanagement, according to CPJ research. They included editor Ibrahim Souley and owner
Soumana Idrissa Maïga of the bimonthly L'Enquêteurwho were sued by Zeine over a
separate contract award. Amani, who is defending Ben Ali pro bono,
said most Nigerien journalists do not have the means to pay for lawyers and
need a legal defense fund to face a flurry of government lawsuits.